I mentioned the funeral I attended Saturday. I did not go to the graveside service. I felt that was more private. He and his wife were married 36 years and had met in a church youth group. He was a little shy and she is a LOT not shy. At first she had liked his brother, but he is the one who won her heart. Yesterday their youngest child posted a photo on FB. It was of the grave after the dirt had been put back and the flowers laid across the grave and his wife lying down beside it. The daughter posted the picture and said she loved the photo but put the little broken heart symbol next to it.Many people made comments and said they were praying for the family. My comment was that as sad as the photo is, I hoped they also realized what a beautiful gift it was also. I shared it, so if you are my FB friend you can see it. Someone else made the statement that Love is Stronger than Death. I love that verse even though I know I take it out of context .
And because we all need to start our day with a laugh:
On the outskirts of a small town, there was a big, old pecan tree just inside the cemetery fence. One day, two boys filled up a bucketful of nuts and sat down by the tree, out of sight, and began dividing the nuts. “One for you, one for me, one for you, one for me,” said one boy. Several dropped and rolled down toward the fence.
Another boy came riding along the road on his bicycle. As he passed, he thought he heard voices from inside the cemetery. He slowed down to investigate. Sure enough, he heard, “One for you, one for me, one for you, one for me ….”
He just knew what it was. He jumped back on his bike and rode off. Just around the bend he met an old man with a cane, hobbling along.
“Come here quick,” said the boy, “you won’t believe what I heard! Satan and the Lord are down at the cemetery dividing up the souls!”
The man said, “Beat it kid, can’t you see it’s hard for me to walk.” When the boy insisted though, the man hobbled slowly to the cemetery.
Standing by the fence they heard, “One for you, one for me. One for you, one for me.”
The old man whispered, “Boy, you’ve been tellin’ me the truth. Let’s see if we can see the Lord…?” Shaking with fear, they peered through the fence, yet were still unable to see anything. The old man and the boy gripped the wrought iron bars of the fence tighter and tighter as they tried to get a glimpse of the Lord.
At last they heard, “One for you, one for me. That’s all. Now let’s go get those nuts by the fence and we’ll be done….”
They say the old man had the lead for a good half-mile before the kid on the bike passed him.
Because Kim posted about the man wanting to see the Lord, I will post what I wrote in my prayer journal earlier. Sorry it is not on the prayer thread so skip it if not a reader of prayers!
Heavenly Father, You have been the giver of blessing upon blessing. Thank You. I can not imagine ignoring You as so many do. Not being able to see You with our eyes is a challenge. But that just really makes You even more special. All material things we can see. But You are far more importantant and greater than material things. Your unseen mystery adds to the depths of Your ability to do far more than we can think or imagine. Thank You. In Jesus’ name, Amen
So, don’t let anyone think you are nuts in doing the wisest thing you can do in life which is to believe in the invisible God!♡
We are have a slow drippy rain where you hear individual raindrops hit the roof out of sequence. It could be a good day for sleeping in, but I have a lot of little errands to do today. M8ss Bosley will miss the activity of birds that she usually watches from the window. I did put bread crumbs out under the birthday tree earlier because it was not very wet there thanks to the layers of leaves forming a natural umbrella.
I’m still shaking cobwebs out of my head, I had the saddest dream right before I woke up — that I had to put Cowboy down 😦 and I was crying and crying in my dream. Woke up with a start.
The dogs will get some extra canned food this morning.
Intense week ahead for me, lots to do. I’m starting out this morning on the way in to work with a quick trip first to the Catholic church in town to see if they’ve resumed their feeding program to the homeless. They’ve been doing it for 3 decades but suspended it for a week last week, citing aggressive behavior on the part of some of the clients. I need to try to find one of the organizers to talk to, no one would call me back last week despite repeated attempts to get more context on what had happened.
Many people in town think they should stop the program altogether. Apparently some of the homeless have become rather particular and have been known to throw unwanted sandwiches back inside the pickup window at the volunteers. 😦
I’d say maybe revisit what they’re doing, figure out how they can maybe work with the mission in providing more than just free food … It’s hard, so many want to help.
So, your dog, who we all know is supposed to be outside chasing squirrels, is allowed to nose over to you at night and whisper sweet nothings in your ear, to influence your dreams, and you reward it with extra food?????
I was making lunch for fourteen year old to take to work. I found them piled into a melting pile of banana juice one day. He is on his own for lunch now. The people there fill him up with junk food so why would he want a couple of ham and cheese sandwiches with fruit?
I’m glad some of you finally woke up and showed up.
I have a question. In church yesterday, some were talking about a movie, War Room”.
Has anyone seen this?
Should I see it?
The rabbit had babies this morning. Last time she had one, she ate it. We are hoping for better this time. We won’t know for a few days as they bury them in the nesting box and disturbing them is a no no.
I really wanted to go see War Room, but my friend is quite ill and has been unable to go and husband said he did not have time to go. He probably would have gone to the latest one, around 10:00 p.m. but I am not sure how safe it is to be out that late. I hope to see it soon. Chas, do go see it. I did buy the soundtrack when I was recently in a Lifeway store.
I’m giving the students a siesta break for the last 10 minutes of class because it is so hot in here.
I wanted to see it but neither Mrs L or D3 were interested, and I don’t go to movies alone so I’ll wait until the DVD. I think it’s about a married couple going through problems, like Fireproof was.
Oops! I accidentally posted my joke on the weekend thread. If you don’t want to go there, here it is: (Sorry if it offends the classical music fans. Just don’t get a “baroquened” up about it.)
When Mozart passed away he was buried in a churchyard. A couple days later, the town drunk was walking through the cemetery, and he happened to hear a strange noise coming from the area where Mozart was buried. Terrified, he ran and got the town priest.
The priest leaned over the grave and heard some faint, unrecognizable music. Frightened himself, the priest ran and got the town magistrate.
The magistrate bent his ear to the grave and heard the music and said, “yes, that’s Mozart’s 9th symphony being played backward.” He listened a while longer and said, “there’s the 8th symphony, and it’s backward, too. Most puzzling.” He kept listening, “there’s the 7th symphony, too, and the 6th and 5th symphonies, all backward!”
Suddenly, the realization of what was happening dawned on the magistrate. He stood up and announced to the gathering crowd at the cemetery, “my fellow citizens, there’s nothing to worry about! It’s just Mozart…decomposing.”
Well, perhaps no surprises, or maybe the Martian snuck in at night and stole the information, but I can’t find Drill’s email address. He had asked me to forget everything he wrote, so I can’t remember his name, either.
I’ll look again later when I have more time. Busy recovering from the weekend!
I did see NJLawyer’s email address, so I’ll email her later.
It really seems hard to believe it has been three years here already. Just another chance to know I am aging faster than my brain can process.
My husband did mention that the movie, A Walk in the Woods, based on Bill Bryson’s book is coming out this week. He wants to see it, too. But I assume he won’t find time to see it either. 😉
Truly, we rarly go see movies. I thought of going by myself but want to wait and see if my friend will feel like going soon.
Drill: Best way to travel would have to be the Dillon-Wagoner Graviton Polarity Generator, vulgarly known as the spindizzy.
A solemn bow and an exaggerated wink to any old timer who knows what THAT is.
Someone else (I didn’t note who): Drill #33: It’s been a long time since I’ve heard of a spindizzy. Am I remembering right that it was a James Blish notion?)
Kevin Berasley: You are correct regards spindizzies. Introduced by Blish in his They Shall Have Stars, the first of the four novels in the Cities in Flight collection.
Drill: If you have never been lofted by a spindizzy, like a leaf in a tornado, and thrown into the black velocities that tunnel through the spaces between the stars – why – you have not really traveled anywhere at all.
But, of course, pray that the spindizzy does not go sour, well – at least – not until you break out on the other side, you know.
Because there are unspeakable things, ravenous things, that haunt and roam and hunt through the quasi-spatial and trans-temporal tunnels between the stars.
So, unless one wishes to seek out these timeless horrors, it is always best to full throttle the spindizzy and to pass as rapidly as possible through these places – and by these things – that were never meant to be, and should have never been.
Travel by spindizzy is definitely not for the faint-hearted.
I have a used one for sale, if anyone is interested. Needs work – no guarantees.
Cheryl: Drill, no warranty? no life insurance? Hmm, how much is it? I’m Scottish, and we do need a good deal.
Drill: Cheryl D., No warranty, no return, no apologies tendered – even if the thing wonks out on you and flings you into a black hole, or should it fizzle out when you are trying to escape a thermal swarm of interstellar bloodbats.
Price is 350 Antiguian III currency units, firm.
Please note also that I will need the Antiguian currency units neutered and muzzled, with original, embossed copies of their individual pedigrees, authenticated and counter-signed by the Comptroller of Currencies.
Or I can trade the spindizzy for a boss collie dog with a good work ethic and with the ability and desire to whip a pack of lazy, good-for-nothing, flea-bitten, tick-ridden mutts into a crack dog outfit.
I confess. We have a garden. We are invariably optimistic, my wife and I, i.e. we are total delusional fools.
We labor intensively all spring (beginning in the beautiful month of March) to prepare the soil. We plant beans, corn, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, melons, cantaloupes, onions, carrots, and the works. We carefully weed and maintain everything through the early summer.
And, all the time, we constantly dream of the bounty we will receive, ever twitching and shivering in sheer anticipation, we salivate at the prospects of all the food we will get, we talk incessantly about the details of the various dishes that we will have.
BUT, alas, invariably, at some point, the word goes out.
There is, I am convinced, an undiscovered but highly advanced communication network in the natural world, connecting every single rodent, every turtle and amphibian, every insect (airborne, crawling, and burrowing), every bird and other flying creature, including some not yet identified by modern science.
I think they receive some sort of instant messaging, a sort of urgent summonsing. However it happens, all eyes, all snouts, all mandibles, all beaks, all grimy little paws are suddenly turned in the direction of – OUR GARDEN.
It is usually over in a mercifully short time.
After all, you cannot expect 100 riflemen in the Alamo to hold off 6000 well-armed Mexican troopers, can you? How then, could you expect two dumpy, beyond-middle-aged, near-sighted people armed only with ridiculously inadequate bug-sprayers and absurd scare-crow contraptions made out of aluminum pie plates and old clothes, to hold off the brutal assault of the entire planet’s animal and insect kingdoms on a single half-acre plot of ground?
By the end of July, generally, we have been driven back to one of the corners of the garden, where we grimly mount a twenty-four hour armed guard over whatever remnants of plants exist there, perhaps a scrappy tomato plant, maybe a few dejected and disheartened bean plants, or, if we are lucky, a watermelon vine with one or two melons on it, each about the size and complexion of a diseased appendix.
Still the assault continues.
Until, finally, in the fall, we yield unconditionally and rotor-tiller up whatever remains of the dried riddled chewed-over corpses of plants that still exist.
We then solemnly swear to NEVER, NEVER attempt a garden again.
And winter comes, the snow falls, our memories fade.
And then fateful spring – some magic day in March, we slip out and stand and gaze longingly upon the waiting beckoning soil of the garden.
And we avoid looking at each other.
Then, wordlessly, but eagerly, we go and get the tools.
Soon after I announced I was getting married, Drill posted this offer. You may recall, he’d been offering some of his cousins to those of us single women on the blog who might be interested:
Just wanted to let it be known (to whomever might be interested), that my cousin Bunion and I run a wedding business on the side, so to speak. We call it ‘No Hitch Hitching’.
We handle everything; catering, dresses, tuxes, moonshine, reception, preacher (guaranteed sober), first aid, arranging bail, you name it.
We provide groomsmen and groomswomen and flower people, as necessary.
We have a fine selection of shotguns for the father of the bride to choose from.
We even guarantee that the groom will show up (we keep him tied up and sedated for a week before the wedding, in case he has any second thoughts).
And, even if he DOES manage to slip through our security net, we will provide a back-up groom, for no extra fee (limited warranty, however).
Me and Bunion have some unmarried cousins who spend time down on the river fishing and loafing all the time; we know where their favorite spots are, and can ambush one of them if necessary.
Overall, I’d rather be an etymologist than an entomologist, but I do have to say that I’m rather astounded that practically every time I walk out the door with my camera, I see at least one species of insect I’ve never seen before. Just minutes ago, walking around our house for about 15 minutes, I saw four new species, a spider with a moth it had caught, a pregnant praying mantis, several other insects and spiders, and a small black bee with very full pollen baskets. And I finally got a decent photo of an insect I noticed for the first time last summer, and have seen several times this summer, but it is so tiny and well-camouflaged that a good photo is nearly impossible. (It’s the ambush bug, less than half an inch long but with a lot of detail you want to capture if you’re getting its photo: http://www.britannica.com/animal/ambush-bug ) Its front legs remind me a lot of those of the praying mantis–but obviously they are minuscule. But it was on goldenrod this time, so there was some contrast between it and its background.
Thanks for all the Drill posts, Cheryl. I read my parents the umbrella one and they thought it was hilarious.
I think I’m regressing into my second childhood prematurely. I already read children’s books with as much interest (sometimes more) as grown-up books. A dear relative slipped some money into my hand a week or two ago, whispering, “This is for something fun.” So, today, I bought a colouring book. In my defense, it is more sophisticated than most colouring books: http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/1780671067/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=A3DWYIK6Y9EEQB&pf_rd_s=desktop-1&pf_rd_r=09P11PE6NJWVSQNBYBBP&pf_rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=2055621862&pf_rd_i=desktop
When I was small, we had several of those Doodle Art posters up throughout the house; some of them black velvet with the white spaces to be coloured. I remember one that was a castle, coloured it so that it looked like every window was alight on a dark night; and I could almost see and hear the people inside. I could never colour on them because I was too small to reach, didn’t have the right markers, and not steady enough to colour in the lines; but I always wanted one of my own.
Psalm 34:7 “The angel of the Lord encamps around them that frar him, and delivers them.
I Cor. 6:3 “Know you not that we shall judge angels, How much more that pertains to this life?
I don’t know what all of that means, but I know that my angel has done an outstanding job.
I told you about how how arranged for me to meet Elvera Collins on the stairs of FBC Columbia. And about blowing a tire on I-95. There have been other occasions.
This afternoon, I took three ladies to Carolina Village to attend the VIP (Visually Impaired Persons) monthly meeting. I picked the up drove them to Carolina Village. Just as I was pulling into the parking space, the red light on my dash came on. So I stopped. I was going to do so anyhow.
I delivered them to the meeting, had Greg find a way to get the ladies home, and went back out to check on the car. It was overheating. I had to call Four Seasons Ford. They told me to bring it in. (A bit of time had passed by now and I had the hood was up so the engine had cooled.) It was about a mile to Four Seasons Ford so I drove over there, the temp gauge had gone up again about the time I got there.
They fixed it for me for $605.51.
The point is, If that red light had come on while on King St. or Four Seasons Blvd. It would have been a serious situation. What to do with those women? It happened while I was pulling into the parking space.
I am thankful for the way it happened, if it had to happen, it couldn’t have been arranged better.
Another thing about that.
Elvera drives that car over half the time. I usually take the truck, she always takes the car.
I have instructed her several times. “If the yellow light comes on, bring the car home. If the red light comes on, pull over and stop as soon as you can.”
She has never had a red light come on and I have no idea what she would do. I’m glad I was driving when it happened.
Chas- when a car is overheating, turn the heater on full blast to take heat away from the engine. It gets uncomfortable in the car in summer, but it usually cools the engine enough to be safe to drive to the nearest mechanic.
I did that once while driving in the mountains with my dad and family. He thanked me because he was getting cold. It was close to 100° when we left Tucson, and under 70° up in the higher elevations. I was amazed as I watched the gauge go from deep in the red to the half-way mark in a matter of 2 or 3 minutes. The minivan had enough coolant, it just wasn’t used to all the climbing we did to go from 2500ft to 9000ft in less than 30 miles.
Ah, The Secret Garden, Roscuro–I’ve been hearing about that one. One of our writers has signed a contract and is designing a coloring book devotional. I’ll keep you posted. 🙂
Remember that black cat who taps me on the shoulder every time I come in the front door? Well, he finally made it to the vet for shots and the snipping he needed. He still fights with the other cat and still taps me on the shoulder when I go by. I just tell him this is not a deli and he will get served at my convenience, not his.
My husband went to a meeting this evening, and as soon as he was out the door I got out butter to soften, so that he would come home to the smell and taste of fresh chocolate chip cookies. He appreciated that, and so did the girls. 🙂
Wandering Views 
Morning all. Welcome to the end of my day. Enjoy your Monday..
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I mentioned the funeral I attended Saturday. I did not go to the graveside service. I felt that was more private. He and his wife were married 36 years and had met in a church youth group. He was a little shy and she is a LOT not shy. At first she had liked his brother, but he is the one who won her heart. Yesterday their youngest child posted a photo on FB. It was of the grave after the dirt had been put back and the flowers laid across the grave and his wife lying down beside it. The daughter posted the picture and said she loved the photo but put the little broken heart symbol next to it.Many people made comments and said they were praying for the family. My comment was that as sad as the photo is, I hoped they also realized what a beautiful gift it was also. I shared it, so if you are my FB friend you can see it. Someone else made the statement that Love is Stronger than Death. I love that verse even though I know I take it out of context .
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And because we all need to start our day with a laugh:
On the outskirts of a small town, there was a big, old pecan tree just inside the cemetery fence. One day, two boys filled up a bucketful of nuts and sat down by the tree, out of sight, and began dividing the nuts. “One for you, one for me, one for you, one for me,” said one boy. Several dropped and rolled down toward the fence.
Another boy came riding along the road on his bicycle. As he passed, he thought he heard voices from inside the cemetery. He slowed down to investigate. Sure enough, he heard, “One for you, one for me, one for you, one for me ….”
He just knew what it was. He jumped back on his bike and rode off. Just around the bend he met an old man with a cane, hobbling along.
“Come here quick,” said the boy, “you won’t believe what I heard! Satan and the Lord are down at the cemetery dividing up the souls!”
The man said, “Beat it kid, can’t you see it’s hard for me to walk.” When the boy insisted though, the man hobbled slowly to the cemetery.
Standing by the fence they heard, “One for you, one for me. One for you, one for me.”
The old man whispered, “Boy, you’ve been tellin’ me the truth. Let’s see if we can see the Lord…?” Shaking with fear, they peered through the fence, yet were still unable to see anything. The old man and the boy gripped the wrought iron bars of the fence tighter and tighter as they tried to get a glimpse of the Lord.
At last they heard, “One for you, one for me. That’s all. Now let’s go get those nuts by the fence and we’ll be done….”
They say the old man had the lead for a good half-mile before the kid on the bike passed him.
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KIm
Booooooooooooooooooooooo
😆
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Kim and I killed the thread before it even got started this morning.
😦
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Funny one, Kim. Later I’ll tell one I heard, but I need to start class since the bell rang.
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Hello to all,whatever time it is where you are.
Because Kim posted about the man wanting to see the Lord, I will post what I wrote in my prayer journal earlier. Sorry it is not on the prayer thread so skip it if not a reader of prayers!
Heavenly Father, You have been the giver of blessing upon blessing. Thank You. I can not imagine ignoring You as so many do. Not being able to see You with our eyes is a challenge. But that just really makes You even more special. All material things we can see. But You are far more importantant and greater than material things. Your unseen mystery adds to the depths of Your ability to do far more than we can think or imagine. Thank You. In Jesus’ name, Amen
So, don’t let anyone think you are nuts in doing the wisest thing you can do in life which is to believe in the invisible God!♡
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We are have a slow drippy rain where you hear individual raindrops hit the roof out of sequence. It could be a good day for sleeping in, but I have a lot of little errands to do today. M8ss Bosley will miss the activity of birds that she usually watches from the window. I did put bread crumbs out under the birthday tree earlier because it was not very wet there thanks to the layers of leaves forming a natural umbrella.
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Haha. Thanks Kim.
I’m still shaking cobwebs out of my head, I had the saddest dream right before I woke up — that I had to put Cowboy down 😦 and I was crying and crying in my dream. Woke up with a start.
The dogs will get some extra canned food this morning.
Intense week ahead for me, lots to do. I’m starting out this morning on the way in to work with a quick trip first to the Catholic church in town to see if they’ve resumed their feeding program to the homeless. They’ve been doing it for 3 decades but suspended it for a week last week, citing aggressive behavior on the part of some of the clients. I need to try to find one of the organizers to talk to, no one would call me back last week despite repeated attempts to get more context on what had happened.
Many people in town think they should stop the program altogether. Apparently some of the homeless have become rather particular and have been known to throw unwanted sandwiches back inside the pickup window at the volunteers. 😦
I’d say maybe revisit what they’re doing, figure out how they can maybe work with the mission in providing more than just free food … It’s hard, so many want to help.
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So, your dog, who we all know is supposed to be outside chasing squirrels, is allowed to nose over to you at night and whisper sweet nothings in your ear, to influence your dreams, and you reward it with extra food?????
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I was making lunch for fourteen year old to take to work. I found them piled into a melting pile of banana juice one day. He is on his own for lunch now. The people there fill him up with junk food so why would he want a couple of ham and cheese sandwiches with fruit?
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I’m glad some of you finally woke up and showed up.
I have a question. In church yesterday, some were talking about a movie, War Room”.
Has anyone seen this?
Should I see it?
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Janice? You were going to that?
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The rabbit had babies this morning. Last time she had one, she ate it. We are hoping for better this time. We won’t know for a few days as they bury them in the nesting box and disturbing them is a no no.
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I really wanted to go see War Room, but my friend is quite ill and has been unable to go and husband said he did not have time to go. He probably would have gone to the latest one, around 10:00 p.m. but I am not sure how safe it is to be out that late. I hope to see it soon. Chas, do go see it. I did buy the soundtrack when I was recently in a Lifeway store.
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Chas, I don’t think it is about war in the traditional sense, I think it is about prayer.
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I’m giving the students a siesta break for the last 10 minutes of class because it is so hot in here.
I wanted to see it but neither Mrs L or D3 were interested, and I don’t go to movies alone so I’ll wait until the DVD. I think it’s about a married couple going through problems, like Fireproof was.
Note to AJ- I sent the NCAA list earlier today.
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Oops! I accidentally posted my joke on the weekend thread. If you don’t want to go there, here it is: (Sorry if it offends the classical music fans. Just don’t get a “baroquened” up about it.)
When Mozart passed away he was buried in a churchyard. A couple days later, the town drunk was walking through the cemetery, and he happened to hear a strange noise coming from the area where Mozart was buried. Terrified, he ran and got the town priest.
The priest leaned over the grave and heard some faint, unrecognizable music. Frightened himself, the priest ran and got the town magistrate.
The magistrate bent his ear to the grave and heard the music and said, “yes, that’s Mozart’s 9th symphony being played backward.” He listened a while longer and said, “there’s the 8th symphony, and it’s backward, too. Most puzzling.” He kept listening, “there’s the 7th symphony, too, and the 6th and 5th symphonies, all backward!”
Suddenly, the realization of what was happening dawned on the magistrate. He stood up and announced to the gathering crowd at the cemetery, “my fellow citizens, there’s nothing to worry about! It’s just Mozart…decomposing.”
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Oh, Peter! 🙂
Well, perhaps no surprises, or maybe the Martian snuck in at night and stole the information, but I can’t find Drill’s email address. He had asked me to forget everything he wrote, so I can’t remember his name, either.
I’ll look again later when I have more time. Busy recovering from the weekend!
I did see NJLawyer’s email address, so I’ll email her later.
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It really seems hard to believe it has been three years here already. Just another chance to know I am aging faster than my brain can process.
My husband did mention that the movie, A Walk in the Woods, based on Bill Bryson’s book is coming out this week. He wants to see it, too. But I assume he won’t find time to see it either. 😉
Truly, we rarly go see movies. I thought of going by myself but want to wait and see if my friend will feel like going soon.
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Football picks are up! 🙂
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Some give-and-take on this one:
Drill: Best way to travel would have to be the Dillon-Wagoner Graviton Polarity Generator, vulgarly known as the spindizzy.
A solemn bow and an exaggerated wink to any old timer who knows what THAT is.
Someone else (I didn’t note who): Drill #33: It’s been a long time since I’ve heard of a spindizzy. Am I remembering right that it was a James Blish notion?)
Kevin Berasley: You are correct regards spindizzies. Introduced by Blish in his They Shall Have Stars, the first of the four novels in the Cities in Flight collection.
Drill: If you have never been lofted by a spindizzy, like a leaf in a tornado, and thrown into the black velocities that tunnel through the spaces between the stars – why – you have not really traveled anywhere at all.
But, of course, pray that the spindizzy does not go sour, well – at least – not until you break out on the other side, you know.
Because there are unspeakable things, ravenous things, that haunt and roam and hunt through the quasi-spatial and trans-temporal tunnels between the stars.
So, unless one wishes to seek out these timeless horrors, it is always best to full throttle the spindizzy and to pass as rapidly as possible through these places – and by these things – that were never meant to be, and should have never been.
Travel by spindizzy is definitely not for the faint-hearted.
I have a used one for sale, if anyone is interested. Needs work – no guarantees.
Cheryl: Drill, no warranty? no life insurance? Hmm, how much is it? I’m Scottish, and we do need a good deal.
Drill: Cheryl D., No warranty, no return, no apologies tendered – even if the thing wonks out on you and flings you into a black hole, or should it fizzle out when you are trying to escape a thermal swarm of interstellar bloodbats.
Price is 350 Antiguian III currency units, firm.
Please note also that I will need the Antiguian currency units neutered and muzzled, with original, embossed copies of their individual pedigrees, authenticated and counter-signed by the Comptroller of Currencies.
Or I can trade the spindizzy for a boss collie dog with a good work ethic and with the ability and desire to whip a pack of lazy, good-for-nothing, flea-bitten, tick-ridden mutts into a crack dog outfit.
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Drill on gardening:
I confess. We have a garden. We are invariably optimistic, my wife and I, i.e. we are total delusional fools.
We labor intensively all spring (beginning in the beautiful month of March) to prepare the soil. We plant beans, corn, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, melons, cantaloupes, onions, carrots, and the works. We carefully weed and maintain everything through the early summer.
And, all the time, we constantly dream of the bounty we will receive, ever twitching and shivering in sheer anticipation, we salivate at the prospects of all the food we will get, we talk incessantly about the details of the various dishes that we will have.
BUT, alas, invariably, at some point, the word goes out.
There is, I am convinced, an undiscovered but highly advanced communication network in the natural world, connecting every single rodent, every turtle and amphibian, every insect (airborne, crawling, and burrowing), every bird and other flying creature, including some not yet identified by modern science.
I think they receive some sort of instant messaging, a sort of urgent summonsing. However it happens, all eyes, all snouts, all mandibles, all beaks, all grimy little paws are suddenly turned in the direction of – OUR GARDEN.
It is usually over in a mercifully short time.
After all, you cannot expect 100 riflemen in the Alamo to hold off 6000 well-armed Mexican troopers, can you? How then, could you expect two dumpy, beyond-middle-aged, near-sighted people armed only with ridiculously inadequate bug-sprayers and absurd scare-crow contraptions made out of aluminum pie plates and old clothes, to hold off the brutal assault of the entire planet’s animal and insect kingdoms on a single half-acre plot of ground?
By the end of July, generally, we have been driven back to one of the corners of the garden, where we grimly mount a twenty-four hour armed guard over whatever remnants of plants exist there, perhaps a scrappy tomato plant, maybe a few dejected and disheartened bean plants, or, if we are lucky, a watermelon vine with one or two melons on it, each about the size and complexion of a diseased appendix.
Still the assault continues.
Until, finally, in the fall, we yield unconditionally and rotor-tiller up whatever remains of the dried riddled chewed-over corpses of plants that still exist.
We then solemnly swear to NEVER, NEVER attempt a garden again.
And winter comes, the snow falls, our memories fade.
And then fateful spring – some magic day in March, we slip out and stand and gaze longingly upon the waiting beckoning soil of the garden.
And we avoid looking at each other.
Then, wordlessly, but eagerly, we go and get the tools.
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Soon after I announced I was getting married, Drill posted this offer. You may recall, he’d been offering some of his cousins to those of us single women on the blog who might be interested:
Just wanted to let it be known (to whomever might be interested), that my cousin Bunion and I run a wedding business on the side, so to speak. We call it ‘No Hitch Hitching’.
We handle everything; catering, dresses, tuxes, moonshine, reception, preacher (guaranteed sober), first aid, arranging bail, you name it.
We provide groomsmen and groomswomen and flower people, as necessary.
We have a fine selection of shotguns for the father of the bride to choose from.
We even guarantee that the groom will show up (we keep him tied up and sedated for a week before the wedding, in case he has any second thoughts).
And, even if he DOES manage to slip through our security net, we will provide a back-up groom, for no extra fee (limited warranty, however).
Me and Bunion have some unmarried cousins who spend time down on the river fishing and loafing all the time; we know where their favorite spots are, and can ambush one of them if necessary.
Anyway, feel free to contact ‘No Hitch Hitching’.
Our motto is ‘We make your dreams come true’.
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I just had an email about the weekend success of War Room. I am trying to link the article:http://zionica.com/2015/08/31/christian-film-war-room-makes-11-million-debut/
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Overall, I’d rather be an etymologist than an entomologist, but I do have to say that I’m rather astounded that practically every time I walk out the door with my camera, I see at least one species of insect I’ve never seen before. Just minutes ago, walking around our house for about 15 minutes, I saw four new species, a spider with a moth it had caught, a pregnant praying mantis, several other insects and spiders, and a small black bee with very full pollen baskets. And I finally got a decent photo of an insect I noticed for the first time last summer, and have seen several times this summer, but it is so tiny and well-camouflaged that a good photo is nearly impossible. (It’s the ambush bug, less than half an inch long but with a lot of detail you want to capture if you’re getting its photo: http://www.britannica.com/animal/ambush-bug ) Its front legs remind me a lot of those of the praying mantis–but obviously they are minuscule. But it was on goldenrod this time, so there was some contrast between it and its background.
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Thanks for all the Drill posts, Cheryl. I read my parents the umbrella one and they thought it was hilarious.
I think I’m regressing into my second childhood prematurely. I already read children’s books with as much interest (sometimes more) as grown-up books. A dear relative slipped some money into my hand a week or two ago, whispering, “This is for something fun.” So, today, I bought a colouring book. In my defense, it is more sophisticated than most colouring books: http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/1780671067/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=A3DWYIK6Y9EEQB&pf_rd_s=desktop-1&pf_rd_r=09P11PE6NJWVSQNBYBBP&pf_rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=2055621862&pf_rd_i=desktop
When I was small, we had several of those Doodle Art posters up throughout the house; some of them black velvet with the white spaces to be coloured. I remember one that was a castle, coloured it so that it looked like every window was alight on a dark night; and I could almost see and hear the people inside. I could never colour on them because I was too small to reach, didn’t have the right markers, and not steady enough to colour in the lines; but I always wanted one of my own.
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Psalm 34:7 “The angel of the Lord encamps around them that frar him, and delivers them.
I Cor. 6:3 “Know you not that we shall judge angels, How much more that pertains to this life?
I don’t know what all of that means, but I know that my angel has done an outstanding job.
I told you about how how arranged for me to meet Elvera Collins on the stairs of FBC Columbia. And about blowing a tire on I-95. There have been other occasions.
This afternoon, I took three ladies to Carolina Village to attend the VIP (Visually Impaired Persons) monthly meeting. I picked the up drove them to Carolina Village. Just as I was pulling into the parking space, the red light on my dash came on. So I stopped. I was going to do so anyhow.
I delivered them to the meeting, had Greg find a way to get the ladies home, and went back out to check on the car. It was overheating. I had to call Four Seasons Ford. They told me to bring it in. (A bit of time had passed by now and I had the hood was up so the engine had cooled.) It was about a mile to Four Seasons Ford so I drove over there, the temp gauge had gone up again about the time I got there.
They fixed it for me for $605.51.
The point is, If that red light had come on while on King St. or Four Seasons Blvd. It would have been a serious situation. What to do with those women? It happened while I was pulling into the parking space.
I am thankful for the way it happened, if it had to happen, it couldn’t have been arranged better.
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Another thing about that.
Elvera drives that car over half the time. I usually take the truck, she always takes the car.
I have instructed her several times. “If the yellow light comes on, bring the car home. If the red light comes on, pull over and stop as soon as you can.”
She has never had a red light come on and I have no idea what she would do. I’m glad I was driving when it happened.
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Hopefully, she would have pulled over and called me.
That’s why she has me.
😉
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Wise man and blessed woman.
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Chas- when a car is overheating, turn the heater on full blast to take heat away from the engine. It gets uncomfortable in the car in summer, but it usually cools the engine enough to be safe to drive to the nearest mechanic.
I did that once while driving in the mountains with my dad and family. He thanked me because he was getting cold. It was close to 100° when we left Tucson, and under 70° up in the higher elevations. I was amazed as I watched the gauge go from deep in the red to the half-way mark in a matter of 2 or 3 minutes. The minivan had enough coolant, it just wasn’t used to all the climbing we did to go from 2500ft to 9000ft in less than 30 miles.
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Ah, The Secret Garden, Roscuro–I’ve been hearing about that one. One of our writers has signed a contract and is designing a coloring book devotional. I’ll keep you posted. 🙂
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A coloring book devotional?
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I’ve thought of taking up “coloring” again.
What’s not to just love about a fresh box of crayons?
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Another stressful day, another stressful homeless story that’ll be talked about.
Can’t wait to go home.
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um…the inside of the dryer….the walls…the floor….I could go on. But you get the picture….as does the inside of the dryer..the walls…the floor….
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Remember that black cat who taps me on the shoulder every time I come in the front door? Well, he finally made it to the vet for shots and the snipping he needed. He still fights with the other cat and still taps me on the shoulder when I go by. I just tell him this is not a deli and he will get served at my convenience, not his.
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My husband went to a meeting this evening, and as soon as he was out the door I got out butter to soften, so that he would come home to the smell and taste of fresh chocolate chip cookies. He appreciated that, and so did the girls. 🙂
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Crayons.
They will fix everything, I’ve decided.
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Or duCT tape. Duct tape will fix anything.
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crayons just melt. Don’t take them on a trip.
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